Mara Hoffman Is Introducing Extended Sizing in Her Collections

A few weeks ago, Mara Hoffman posted a photo on Instagram of her new rainbow patchwork jacket from Spring 2018. It got more than 10,000 likes, and the comment section is filled with heart emojis and messages like “I need this” and “Obsesssseeedddd.” Hoffman reads those comments; she’s actively engaged with her followers—all 409,000 of them—and relies on them for feedback to push her business forward. So when requests for extended sizes kept coming in, she got to work adapting her production and design models to include more women. Starting today, Hoffman’s website will feature five brand-new Spring 2018 pieces in additional sizes, from 14 to 20. They’ll also be available at 11 Honoré, the e-commerce site that specializes in extended sizes for high-end designers (you’ll find Brandon Maxwell, Zac Posen, and Zero + Maria Cornejo on there, too).

“It’s been such a long time coming, and so many women have been asking us for this on social media,” Hoffman explains. “Women would write, ‘Can you please make this in my size?’ Or they’d ask, ‘Why don’t you include me in this conversation?’ That’s always a brutal [question], because of course I want to include you—I want to include everyone.” It’s not as simple as “tacking on more sizes,” though—which might (partially) explain why so many other designers have yet to embrace size diversity. “You have to do it right,” she says. “There’s a process to it; it’s another series of fittings and a different approach to patternmaking. You want to give it as much care and intention as you’ve given everything up until that point.”

The five pieces are the same ones Hoffman’s fans have been double-tapping and wishing for on her Instagram over the past few months. That rainbow coat is one of them, plus a single-sleeved midi dress in a vibrant floral print and three wrap dresses in navy gingham, black, and cherry. Like everything in Hoffman’s line, each is made from low-impact fibers like hemp, organic cotton, linen, or Tencel. We can’t think of many other designers addressing both sustainable fashion and extended sizing—can you? “There’s definitely a hole in the market, so it’s cool to be able to put those two [issues] together,” Hoffman says. “Whenever we talk about trying to be more sustainable, it always comes up that we’ve left out such a significant market.”

The looks here are just a teaser of what’s to come. Over the next few months, Hoffman will be gathering feedback from her customers—on Instagram, of course—and working toward adding more and more pieces in extended sizes. Shop the current selection now at marahoffman.com and 11honore.com.